At a glance, it looks like the first day of games aren’t giving us any spectacular match-ups, with Dear vs Rain being the most hotly contested game. With four mirrors, it’s relatively par for the course, especially in Proleague -- nevertheless, these are still top tier players and there is always the draw of the elusive ace match lurking in the shadows.

STX_INnoVation <Neo Planet S> SKT_BeSt
In the game that kicks off the playoffs, Innovation managed to get SKT’s ailing captain as his first target. Needless to say, Innovation will most likely stomp through BeSt, with the SKT Protoss barely getting more than one televised match a month, Innovation is just on a completely different level in regards to raw skill and power. However, that isn’t to say that BeSt is completely out of the game - Innovation has shown weakness in the past, and his greed has cost him a number of games. BeSt’s best bet would be to prepare a very specific cheese to capitalize on this singular aspect of INnoVation's game.

STX_Dear <Bel'Shir Vestige> SKT_Rain
Playing on STX Soul definitely has its perks, but it also comes with the fact that no matter who you are, you will almost always be under Innovation’s shadow. This is the case with Dear, STX Soul’s second-in-command and one of the more underrated Protoss players out there. While not as accomplished as Rain, Dear still boasts a number of high profile PvP wins, besting players like Stats, Argo and Jangbi. Meanwhile, Rain’s last two PvPs have ended in disaster, losing 2-0 to LG-IM’s First and his last Proleague match to Team 8’s Pigbaby. So though many might see Rain as the clear favorite, Dear has shown he has the chops to take down giants, just as Rain is looking his most vulnerable.

STX_Mini <Naro Station SE> SKT_PartinG
Ah, PartinG. The black sheep of SKT, PartinG has managed to wedge himself inside the line-up using his past accomplishments as well as his raw skill. When it comes to PvP, PartinG has fared better than Rain, with a 64% win rate in PvProleague games. However, Mini also boasts a strong PvP winrate, with wins over players like sOs, Zest and HerO under his belt, so he's no slouch when it comes to sniping great Protosses. While PartinG may have a fight on his hands, he should still be able to close out this game for SKT.

STX_Classic <Akilon Wastes> SKT_FanTaSy
On the topic of getting revenge for past mistakes, yet another classic blunder that Classic made harkens back to his Terran days, in the first round of Proleague. On Arkanoid (the rock map), Classic managed to secure a huge lead by going mech against Fantasy’s bio and securing good tank positions and started a huge contain on Fantasy’s base. With the never-give-up attitude that Fantasy possesses, he managed to outwit and outmaneuver Classic’s army and with some brilliant flanks managed to pull himself back into the game and from there Classic crumbled under the drop harass of Fantasy. Having already gotten back at Rain for humiliating him in a PvP, Classic will no doubt try to set things straight, this time in a PvT rematch -- whether or not Fantasy can stand up to Classic’s revitalized spirit is the remaining question heading into this game.

STX_hyvaa <Neo Fighting Spirit> SKT_soO
Probably the Zerg who has received the most hate as of late, Hyvaa has been labelled one of the cheesier players in pro StarCraft. Having already broken the hearts of SKT fans once this week, hyvaa will look to tip the scales once again by taking out resident Zerg SoO. While SKT Zergs haven’t been performing as well as their Protoss and Terran counterparts, both s2 and SoO have had reasonable performances as of late. Though it’s hard to call, SoO has shown strong ZvZ while most of hyvaa’s ZvZ have been hyper-aggressive, so SoO should look to play a safe and defensive style if he wants to survive hyvaa’s onslaught.

STX_Trap <Whirlwind> SKT_Bisu
The long lost prince, Bisu has recently come into a renaissance as of late, with a huge win over Jangbi in round 6. Meanwhile Trap has been doing fairly well in the individual leagues, with a 1-1 standing in the Ro16 of WCS Korea. Though he hasn’t played many PvPs as of late, his Wings of Liberty PvP was admirable, with wins over Rain and Jangbi in the last few weeks of round 3. While it would be nice to call a Bisu win outright, it just isn’t as simple as that, and Bisu will have to work extremely hard if he wants to beat a Protoss of Trap’s caliber.

Ace Match: <Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct>
While an ace match isn't guaranteed, the allure and excitement that a 7th game brings is too much to not write about. So the first and probably most important factor of this ace match in deciding who gets picked is the map. Because we're playing on Newkirk Redevelopment Precinct, one of the more Terran favored maps in the pool, the likelihood of SKT picking Rain is diminished. Couple that with the fact that SKT has fielded FanTaSy before and it makes it possible that they could spring a surprise FanTaSy pick on STX and the viewers. However, there is of course the danger of Innovation's TvT as well as the recent changes to hellbats which will no doubt have deep repercussions to the match up.

Nevertheless, the promise of a showdown between Innovation and Rain is inevitable and SKT may just take the hit and send Rain out with a very specific build catered to this map. If Rain is sent out, he'll not only have a hard time dealing with the layout of the map, but Innovation's raw power as well. He managed to deflect it last time on Akilon Wastes with a well executed all-in that capitalized on Innovation's bare bones defense and smashed through the Terran easily. If Innovation hasn't fixed that hole in his armor, Rain will no doubt be able to exploit it once again. But if the gamble fails, it could spell disaster for Rain and SKT's immediate future.

Predictions

With some extremely tight match-ups, this first set is quite hard to call. In one instance, it would be quite easy to see Rain and Fantasy pull out their top form and crush their opponents, but both players have shown inconsistency as of late and that is something that can’t be dismissed out of hand. With that in mind, I can see this going into an ace match quite easily, which brings us to the question of what that match-up would be. With Innovation showing such dominance in TvT, it may be safe to assume that Fantasy will probably be out of the running as a contender, which only leaves Rain and PartinG. In most cases, Rain would be a no brainer as he has the most experience in dealing with the crushing pressure of an ace match. There's also the surprise option of PartinG, who despite his recent PvZ woes, is still a powerful player against Terran and Protoss.

Innovation > BeSt
Dear > Rain
Mini < PartinG
Classic < Fantasy
Hyvaa < SoO
Trap > Bisu
Ace: Innovation > Rain

STX Soul beats SK Telecom T1 4 - 3 in the first set.